


Unlikely Friends

by Nan_ette, unending_happiness



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alec Lightwood Loves Magnus Bane, Animals, Battle Malec, Cows, M/M, Magnus Bane Loves Alec Lightwood, Malec, alec is pure, and cows, the only warning that applies is too much fucking cuteness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-19
Updated: 2017-11-19
Packaged: 2019-02-04 06:15:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12764874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nan_ette/pseuds/Nan_ette, https://archiveofourown.org/users/unending_happiness/pseuds/unending_happiness
Summary: “Yeah, well you would smell too if you didn’t have a shower,” Alec said, smiling at Magnus as he shook his hand out and made a face of disgust.“Well, by all means, let’s get her a shower!” Magnus teased.





	Unlikely Friends

**Author's Note:**

  * For [damnyoudaddario](https://archiveofourown.org/users/damnyoudaddario/gifts).



> This is a birthday gift to the absolutely amazing creature @damnyoudaddario! D, Britt and I love you so much and we hope you like this little thing we put together :) Happiest of birthdays babe, we had fun putting this together! We don't doubt it will make you smile, I promise <3

Alec flicked away the branches of leaves with an annoyed huff as he moved further through the forest. The sun was setting and sent the last glimmers of golden light breaking through the thick brush, but as he looked up, a dark pink and red overtook the sky just as it did before nightfall. They needed to keep moving. 

He sighed as he stepped over broken branches and pushed away more leaves hitting against his face. Maybe he would have been in a better mood if he knew what happened to Sebastian’s body, so he could kill him again himself for what he did to Max and the fear he placed on everyone he loved. Max was okay, but he was still in recovery and needed to take it easy, but he was a Lightwood and therefore stubborn as hell. 

Alec softly smiled without even knowing it at the thought of how tough his brother was, how tough Izzy was. And Jace...that was a whole different thing. Ever since Alec felt him die, things haven’t been right between them. He was hiding something. And what pissed Alec off more than the fact that his parabatai can’t talk to him about this problem, was that clearly Clary knew what it was.

“Alexander.”

She was acting just as distant as Jace, just as jumpy whenever Alec would ask what was up with them. They couldn’t fully look Alec in the eye anymore and he’s had enough of it. He huffed and slapped away more leaves before thinking about just slicing them down with his blade. 

He sucked in a sharp breath as he ran his hand over his parabatai rune. Ever since that night that Valentine was killed, there had been a deep, constant ache in his rune. Sometimes it would hurt so bad, pain would flash through his chest and take his breath away. But of course, Jace had no idea what he was talking about. He didn’t seem to most of these days. 

Dry leaves crunched under his combat boots as he got lost in his thoughts, worried there would be another demon attack from the edomi that escaped from the rift Magnus had sealed, new shadowhunter recruits needed to be trained, he had paperwork to-

“Alexander,” Magnus’ voice cut through as he felt a warm hand on his shoulder to slow him down.

“Mmh?” He comes to a stop and turns to look over his shoulder. He knew Magnus had been worried about him lately since he told him about how weird Jace was being, but it was even more evident on his face as he glanced at him right now.

“I can hear you thinking from back here,” he says, concern laced his voice and Alec’s heart clenched from the constant worry he’s put on Magnus lately. He knows he’s been quieter and maybe a little distant, but he needed to get to the bottom of his problems with Jace, and yet couldn’t seem to manage it on top of the other hundred things he is in charge of. 

Alec turns fully to his boyfriend and sighs. “Sorry,” he mumbles, his eyes dropping to Magnus’ collarbone, unable to look him in the eye.

Magnus had noticed the dark circles under Alec’s eyes become increasingly darker as the days passed. He knew he had too much on his plate lately, he just wanted to be here for him and let him know he could always lean on him when things got too hard. He knew Alec knew that, but he’s still been distant, no doubt a defense mechanism acquired over the years.

He brings his hand up to gently cup Alec’s cheek, heart clenching as Alec closes his eyes and leans into his touch.

Magnus’ brows were still knit with worry, but a soft smile crosses his face before playfully muttering, “Don’t apologize to me, apologize to those poor leaves who did nothing to you.”

He was rewarded with Alec’s eyes lighting up as he released a small laugh and Magnus couldn’t help but smile in return. They stared at each other for a minute, Alec’s hazel eyes and soft smirk silently thanking him for taking his mind off of reality. Magnus hummed in delight as he pulled him into a soft kiss. 

He reluctantly leaned back just as Alec’s hand found it’s way to Magnus’ hip, but just enough to keep their foreheads touching, eyes closed as they relaxed in the serenity of the moment.

“You know i’m always here for you,” he said. Alec huffs and gives him a quick kiss.

“I know, i’m always here for you too,” he said in a rough voice as he leans back to give Magnus a smile only reserved for him.

Magnus hums in consideration at that. “You’re lucky i’m here for you now too because you were going the wrong way my darling,” he informs him quickly with a shit-eating-grin as he pats Alec’s chest twice before spinning away and strutting in the opposite direction.

“What?” he asks astoundedly. “Nuh uh, the screens detected a demon east from here,” he explains as he stands his ground.

Magnus doesn’t even look back, just points in the direction he was headed. “That’s this way, my dear,” his voice carried loud enough even as he continued to walk away.

Alec furrows his brow and places his hands on his hips before looking in the direction of the setting sun to determine where they were. He was wrong. “Oh,” he embarrassingly mutters before jogging to catch up with his too-smart-for-him boyfriend.

“Why did you follow me and let me lead us so far if we were going the wrong way then?” he asks as he falls into step with Magnus.

“I did try to stop you, but you were overthinking everything, again,” he says to him, not unkindly though.

“Oh,” Alec muttered again. He squared up his shoulders as he tried to contain his composure. “Well,” he said as a matter-of-fact and Magnus smirked, “if i’m correct there should be a farm coming up…” he mutters as he pushes away the last of the remaining bushes on the edge of the forest. “Ah, there it is,” he says proudly as the farm comes into view and sends a bashful grin to his boyfriend before taking the lead again. Magnus tried hard but couldn’t contain his smile as he followed. 

His fingers sparked blue as he sensed the demon nearby and scanned the area for any threat. Hills rolled on as far as the eye could see, growing dark as the night fell and the moon shone brightly. He heard the distant sounds of animals on the farm, grazing in the pastures and settling down to sleep for the night, but some were unsteady as if they could sense the evil lurking by.

“There are two more buildings,just past this one, and a house even further up, so we should try to lure them back this way,” Alec said, not moving to draw his bow yet, but anxiously flexing his hand into a fist. Magnus was distracted momentarily by the action, so it took a few moments for Alec’s words to set in.

“Wait, how did you know this was here?” Magnus asked curiously, looking around at the animals in the pasture just beyond the fence. “I didn’t take you for a country guy.”

Alec could tell by the amusement in Magnus’ voice that he was going to tease that he knew the reason he was familiar with this farm. He just gave him a crooked smile. “Later, I think we have company.” He drew his bow and nodded toward the large barn nearby.

He knew Magnus heard it too, that telltale sound of a shax demon and the magic that started flowing from his fingertips confirmed it. They walked soundlessly side-by-side toward the big building with the faded red paint, going slowly, their steps perfectly in sync.

They worked exceptionally well together in the battle field, both knowing the others’ strengths and weaknesses and combining their skills effortlessly. It wasn’t the same as fighting with Jace, of course, the very nature of the parabatai bond being unique. With Jace, his body automatically sensed where his parabatai was and unconsciously matched him. He didn’t even have to think about it. With Magnus, it was more of a magnetic pull. His heart always wanting to be near him and protect him when necessary. He risked a glance at his boyfriend to see that his steely eyes were focused on their target, his jaw clenched, and he had red magic barely contained in both of his palms. Alec realized how almost silly it was that he thought this fierce and deadly man would ever need protecting, but he couldn’t help the overwhelming urge to keep him safe at all costs.

Magnus looked at him and raised an eyebrow in question, “Is there a demon near my face?” 

Alec pursed his lips, and refocused on the mission. This wasn’t the first time he had been caught staring at Magnus in the middle of work, and he was sure it wouldn’t be the last. He tightened his grip on his arrow and focused on his breathing to avoid giving in to the temptation to look at the knowing look that was no doubt plastered on Magnus face. 

“Twelve o’clock,” Alec said loudly, not even bothering to keep his voice down when the demon was already stalking down the roof of the barn and right towards them. 

“That’s you,” Magnus said, taking into account that his magic could burn the building to the ground. Alec waited until the demon was right where he wanted it and then he let his arrow fly. It pierced the demon right in the center and it vanished in a cloud of black ash. He grabbed another arrow quickly, knowing that where there was one shax demon, there were likely many.

Just as he thought, another came around the side of the barn and Alec aimed for it just as he heard Magnus say, “Behind us. I’ve got you covered!” and he felt rather than saw Magnus spin around very fast. He shot another arrow as a bright light from Magnus’ magic lit up the sky behind him, and he knew that he must’ve killed multiple demons that had come from the direction of the woods. 

They worked together like that for a few minutes, taking out each one, effortlessly as they saw it. When they seemed like they might all be gone, Alec walked backwards slowly, until his back touched Magnus’. Neither took their eyes off of their surroundings.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Right as rain. You?”

“I’m good. I wasn’t expecting them to come from the woods, too. I’m glad you were with me.”

Magnus sighed, “There isn’t anywhere else I’d rather be. How many did you get?”

“Seven, you?”

“I think it was thirty. I lost count.” Magnus said rather matter of factly.

Alec turned around at that. “Show-off” he said, teasingly. 

“Are you impressed or jealous?” Magnus asked in jest, turning around as well and pulling Alec in for a tender kiss. 

Alec gave in to it, even though part of his brain was telling him that it was too soon to assume the coast was clear. He felt Magnus fingers press lightly into his chest and he hummed in approval.

He was pulled out of the sweet moment by something he saw and heard simultaneously, and he reacted on instinct. The lone demon was flying through the air behind Magnus, and would make contact in a matter of seconds. He reached down with his right hand, plucking his dagger out of his holster and at the same time wrapped an arm around Magnus and pulled him tightly against his chest. He made a noise of surprise, but didn’t resist, which spoke volumes about how much he trusted Alec. His hands were trapped between their two bodies, making it near impossible to use his magic if he needed to. 

Alec stabbed the demon where it was, mere inches from Magnus’ back, and ichor sprayed on them as the demon met it’s end. That was a close one. He could just imagine having to tell the Institute as well as Catarina that they were hurt because they were busy kissing. 

“Eight,” he whispered into Magnus’ ear. 

“Thank you,” Magnus whispered back, before gently pushing off Alec’s chest and untangling himself. He waved a hand over himself to remove the ichor, and did the same to Alec, which made Alec chuckle. He had never been cleaner in battle since he started fighting alongside Magnus.

“It’s not thirty, but I try,” he said with a wink.

“Alexander, did you just..? You did….you just winked-” Magnus started, only to stop mid-sentence when Alec pressed a hand tightly against his parabatai rune and grimaced. “Hey, we should get you back. See if Jace is ready to talk to you yet. I don’t like you being in pain like this all the time.”

Alec knew he was right, but the truth was that he doubted Jace would talk to him tonight any more than he would talk to him last night when he tried. Whatever they were hiding was big and whatever the reason, they were determined to keep him in the dark. Still, he supposed he needed to try to get to the bottom of whatever was hurting his brother, and nothing was impossible. All Shadowhunters know that you just have to keep trying until you break through.

“Yeah, you’re right. But I just want to check on the animals real quick. Make sure none of them were injured by any of the demons.” Alec rubbed his rune lightly and started walking in the direction of the pasture. He reached the fence and scanned the grass, thankful he had activated his night vision rune earlier. He didn’t see any injured animals, so he walked along the fence to his usual spot, leaned on it, and waited.

Magnus came up beside him and leaned his head on Alec’s shoulder. “They look good to me. Can we go home now? I have steak and vodka calling my name.”

“Shhhh. Don’t talk about steak. She’ll hear you,” Alec whispered, then waited for the look on Magnus’ face when he heard such a statement.

Magnus lifted his head and looked at Alec, and the look didn’t disappoint. “I beg your pardon?”

Alec didn’t answer, instead placing one finger to Magnus’ lips to silence him. His boyriend’s eyes lit up in amusement and then his brow furrowed in confusion. “Alec, what is going on?” he whispered.

He removed his finger and looked out over the fence again as he heard hoofs approaching. “Ahhh, there she is,” he said to Magnus before making a clicking noise with his tongue and holding out a large hand over the fence.

Magnus watched in fascination as a huge soft brown cow walked slowly up to the fence and pressed her head right against Alec’s hand. 

“Hey, there. You’ve had some excitement tonight, haven’t you, my friend?” Alec asked the big girl as he patted her on the head with his free hand.

Magnus laughed loudly in disbelief, “You are friends with a cow? How did this happen? You aren’t even friends with most people.”

“Shhhhh. You’ll startle her. And cows aren’t jerks like people. She’s nice. Want to pet her?” He had never known Magnus to meet an animal he didn’t like. The man had a giant pet snake for goodness sakes.

“I don’t….I..uh.” Magnus shook his head, “Explain please. I feel like I’m in a dream.”

Alec chuckled and continued petting his bovine companion. “This farm is near a hotbed for demonic activity. I’ve had to pass it many times to hunt demons, and she’s always here by the fence when I walk by. The first few times I didn’t think anything of it, but then she kept sort of coming over, like she wanted me to pet her. But I never did because, well...you’ve met Jace. He would have a field day teasing me about it. So I make a point to swing by here when I’m alone and say hi.” He looked at Magnus bashfully, wondering how he would react to this confession. “What?” he asked when Magnus pressed his lips together like he was barely keeping words in.

“How often do you come spend time with this cow?” he asked amusedly.

“Uh, I don’t know. Probably once a week.” Alec said. 

“Once a week? And you’ve never mentioned it before?”

“Well, it’s kind of...I don’t know...I never really thought about it. It’s just peaceful here and I stop by and give her some hay and she lets me pet her and then we go our separate ways. Would you have believed me anyway?” he asked, already knowing the answer.

“Definitely not. I would have thought you were pulling my leg. This is pretty unbelievable, Alec. Who even knew cows were this friendly?” Magnus asked, stepping a little closer to the fence and examining the object of his boyfriend’s affections.

“They are super friendly.,” he said, his voice subconsciously growing softer the more he talked about her. “I read about them in books as a child. Of course I never got to spend time with any, since I was always in the Institute.” He turned his attention back to his friend, who was licking his hand. “Hey that tickles. I didn’t bring any with me this time, sorry.”

“Hay?” Magnus asked. 

“Yeah, she’s used to me having some,” Alec admitted.

“I cannot believe I’m doing this,” Magnus muttered, holding out one hand and twirling his fingers to magic some hay into it with the other. 

Alec smiled hugely. “Awwww, look. You’re new friend got you a snack!” He wasted no time grabbing Magnus arm and pulling the food within reach of the cow’s mouth. 

Magnus wrinkled his nose as she ate from his hand. “Ugh, she smells.” 

“Yeah, well you would smell too if you didn’t have a shower,” Alec said, smiling at Magnus as he shook his hand out and made a face of disgust.

“Well, by all means, let’s get her a shower!” Magnus teased. 

“Just admit she’s cute and we can go home and have S-T-E-A-K.” Alec spelled the word slowly, as if the mere mention of it would hurt the animals feelings.

Magnus tilted his head from side to side as if he was thinking hard on the subject. “Mmmmmmmmm, she’s pretty cute, but not as cute as you.” He walked up behind Alec and hugged him from behind, pressing his chin against his shoulder. “You never cease to amaze me, Alexander.”

And at that moment the cow let out a loud “moo” as if in emphatic agreement with Magnus, and they both laughed in amusement. 

“I’m never letting you live this down,” Magnus said.

“Fine, but it’s our secret,” Alec relented, sliding his hand into Magnus’ and pulling him along toward home. 

They had been walking along in comfortable silence for a few moments when Magnus said, “Wait, is this why you haven’t been eating as many cheeseburgers lately?!”

Alec let free a loud laugh, pulled his boyfriend close with the arm draped over his shoulders and kissed the side of his head. The two chuckled and continued their walk in the moonlight, distant moos echoed and followed them down their path home.

**Author's Note:**

> If this didn't make you smile, you know where to find us young lady! 
> 
> HAPPY BIRTHDAY WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!! <3 (more than Alec loves cows! ;))


End file.
